Johnny V. willing to help out Belmont rookie jock

ELMONT – Jockey John Velazquez, a New York mainstay for over a decade, has ridden thousands of races over the gigantic Belmont Park oval.

Mario Gutierrez, the upstart rider of Triple Crown contender I’ll Have Another, will compete in a race on the Belmont track for the first time on Friday.

Who do you think has the edge in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes? Johnny V. will be aboard Union Rags, the disappointing Kentucky Derby seventh place finisher, for the first time.

“He needs to go out and ride a couple races and learn a little about (Belmont),” Velazquez said. “See where the poles are because it does make a difference when you’re riding the Belmont going a mile and a half. You have to know where you are at.”

Gutierrez is scheduled to ride in four races on Friday, including a mount in the 1 ½ mile Brooklyn Handicap. He is on Boxeur des Rues, who is trained by Doug O’Neill, who trains I’ll Have Another.

“It’s very important,’’ Velazquez said about Gutierrez getting a ride at the Belmont distance over the track. “He’ll see how far this track is. A mile and a half on the dirt is very different than riding just another race.”

When asked if the big Belmont track could intimidate a young rider, Johnny V. didn’t hesitate.

“It could be,” he said. “I’m not in their shoes, but it could be. We ride racetracks throughout the year that are a mile or a mile and an eighth around. Other racetracks, you turn to the backstretch and you are at the three-quarters pole. Here, you are at the mile pole. It can be very tricky.”

Velazquez said he would be willing to talk to Gutierrez about the track even though they are competitors.